Glee's Lea Michele opened up with Elle magazine on how she coped with her longtime boyfriend and co-star, Cory Monteith's sudden death.

"I never thought I would be in this position in my whole life. Now that I am in this position, you can choose to rise, and that's what I'm going to try to do. I know that Cory would want nothing more than for me to take this situation and use it to help people,"Michele said of the actor who was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver in July. His autopsy revealed it was a lethal mix of heroin and alcohol what caused his death. 

Michele, 27, also confessed in the magazine's December issue that it was actually actress Kate Hudson who helped her get through it. 

"I called [Kate Hudson] and said, 'I don't know where I'm going to go because my house is swarmed [with reporters].' She was like, 'Oh, you're going to stay at my house.' Like it was nothing. No one knew I was there. I'll never really be able to thank her, truly, for what she did for me."

While little time has passed, Michele said she is still healing but is determined to get through it. 

"It's very hard. And you have to be very strong to come out of this alive, but I think by doing the best for myself, by showing that you don't have to lose yourself, maybe someone else will feel some sort of strength or comfort."

She added, "There was no greater man than Cory. So for the time we spent together I consider myself very lucky."

The issue will be available on newsstands Nov. 19.

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